The title for this
exhibit, "A Mother's War,"
came from the pages of Clara
Hawker's diaries. These
diaries were school exercise
books in which Clara wrote of
everyday events for her sons
to read when they returned
from the war. She became
involved in the Great War

through the Women's Patriotic
Association, an association
of women whose contribution
included sewing shirts and
knitting socks for the
soldiers. She recorded events
of everyday family life, thus
revealing some important
aspects of community life
during those war years. She

wrote with pride of her
children's accomplishments,
and she always wrote of how
much she missed her two sons
who were so far away from
home.
This exhibit also
includes correspondences from
Walter and Mortimer, which
tell of their experiences in

England, Scotland, and France
while serving with the
Newfoundland Regiment. It
includes a brief history of
the Hawker family of
Carbonear and their relatives
in England. It also provides
the viewer with a background
and brief gallery of pictures
of the Mortimer family whose